Manchester City were not expecting to include Julian Alvarez in their squad against Everton but he could now be an option off the bench.

Julian Alvarez trained with Manchester City on Friday ahead of their Premier League game with Everton after returning earlier than expected from Argentina.

Alvarez had been given time off to celebrate after his role in their World Cup victory in Qatar less than a fortnight ago. The young forward was set to return in the New Year, with Pep Guardiola giving that timescale in his pre-match press conference.

However, Alvarez then trained with the group later that afternoon after returning to Manchester earlier than planned. That will boost Guardiola’s plans for the matches against Chelsea next week, and Alvarez could even be included for the Everton match on Saturday.

Alvarez was fast-tracked to Manchester in the summer to spend the season with City having been signed for them in the January transfer window but kept at River Plate to further develop. While the 22-year-old has played second fiddle to Erling Haaland spearheading the City team with the Norwegian already up to 26 goals in all competitions, Alvarez is still the club’s third top scorer with seven goals and is averaging one every 128 minutes.

City will look to put some pressure on Arsenal this weekend as they aim to close the gap on the league leaders. Guardiola’s men face Everton on Saturday hours before the Gunners are at Brighton, meaning the gap could go to just two points before Mikel Arteta’s side kick off.

The Blues returned to league action with a 3-1 win over Leeds at Elland Road, with a Haaland brace following Rodri’s opening strike before they conceded a consolation goal.

SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk